


Resurrected and Reunited

by Sammie2244



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-06 14:05:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 21,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10336265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammie2244/pseuds/Sammie2244
Summary: James and Lily Potter have been dead for 12 years, both falling victim to the killing curse by the hand of the darkest wizard of all time.  Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard known to have survived the killing curse.  Having grown up with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, he never felt like he truly had a home until he went to Hogwarts.One night, however, in the middle of Harry’s third year at Hogwarts, the impossible happens.  His parents awaken in their coffins.They manage to dig themselves out of their graves, and decide to find out what happened to their son.  Is he alive?  Is he dead?  They have no idea.They find out he is alive, due to the plaque outside their house, which has remained untouched since the night they died.  Once they figure out what date it is, they seek out Dumbledore, as they believe he will lead them to their son.How will Harry react to finally having his parents back?  What will he do?  And how will the rest of the wizarding world react to having two people, who have been dead for over a decade, rise again?NOTE: This story is set in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”It uses both references from the books and the movies.





	1. Chapter 1

**JAMES’ POV**

 

I woke up in a box.  It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing.  What the hell?  I pushed against the top of the box to find that it would not move.  It seemed like it was nailed down or something was holding it down.  How the hell do I get out of here?  As it turned out, I was holding my wand, so I decided to cast a spell to blast open the top of the box so I could get out.  As soon as I did, something very heavy fell on me.  Dirt?  

“Protego!”  I thought, putting a shielding charm up to get most of it off me.  I looked around and noticed that it looked like I was buried or underground somewhere.  I stood up, the shield charm still up, and pushed the dirt off myself.  Once I was at the surface, the rest of the dirt slid down the shield and settled on the ground.

“Deletrius.”  I said, pointing my wand at the remaining dirt. ( _A/N: This spell disintegrates the target_ )

I looked around and noticed that I was in a graveyard.  What the hell?  How and why in the name of Merlin am I here?  Where are Harry and Lily?  LILY AND HARRY!  Did they get away?  My eyes widened at the thought of my wife and son.  Memories of that night came back to me: me telling Lily to take Harry and run, Voldemort killing me.  Wait, if he killed me, how am I alive?  I then climbed up to get back on the ground.  I looked at the gravestone behind me.  

 

_In loving memory of_

**_James Potter            Lily Potter_ **

_BORN                      BORN_

_27 March 1960        30 January 1960_

_DIED                         DIED_

_31 October 1981      31 October 1981_

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death_

 

Wait, so Lily and I _both_ died that night?  What happened to Harry?  Is he alive?  Did Voldemort kill him?  A thousand questions were running through my mind in this moment.  So many that it took me by complete shock when I heard an explosion next to me.  I almost fell back in my grave.  Merlin, that sounds very strange.  I looked over to see that Lily’s grave was open as well.

“L-Lily?”  I asked softly.  Just then, a saw red hair emerge from the grave.  The head tilted up and I was faced with the face of my beautiful wife.

“James?”  She asked in disbelief.  I immediately got up and helped her out of her grave.  It still sounds weird saying that.  “What happened?”  She asked.  I explained to her everything that had happened and what I remembered.

“Harry.  Where’s Harry?  WHERE’S HARRY?!”  She cried, getting more agitated and worried by the second.  I pulled her into my arms and began to soothe her.

“I have no idea my love.  We will find him though.  I promise.”  I promised her, trying to calm her.

“The last thing I remember is talking to Harry and telling him that I loved him, before pleading with Voldemort not to kill him.  Voldemort gave me a warning to step aside, but I didn’t and then he killed me.  That’s all I remember up until now.”  She revealed.

Once we had figured out that we were in Godric’s Hollow, the first place we went to was our house.  What we saw was horrible.  It looked like a bomb had gone off inside it, but the entire place looked like it had been untouched for years.  As we got closer, a plaque appeared.

 

 _“On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family_.”

 

Both our eyes widened.  Harry survived?  He’s alive?  Where was he now?  What had happened to him?  He should be with Sirius right now.  If we can find Sirius, we will probably be able to find Harry.

“Lily, we need to find Harry.  What date is it?”  I asked.

“I have no idea.”  She replied.  I looked next door and saw a newspaper lying on the ground.  It looked new.  I went over and looked at the date on it.  _Friday_ , _5 th November 1993_.  My face paled.  We’ve been dead for 12 years.  “James?  What is it?  What’s wrong?”  She asked 

“Lily, we’ve been dead for 12 years.”  I said in a shaken voice.

“What?  How are we alive again?”  She asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know, but we need to find our son.  According to the date here, he should be at Hogwarts right now.   We could apparate to the Shrieking Shack and then make our way towards the castle from there?  We need to talk to Dumbledore.  He’d be the only one who would believe us in this current situation.”  I suggested.

“James, do think about this for a moment.  Even though I am absolutely dying to see our son, how is he going to react when he sees his parents, who have come back from the dead after 12 years of being dead?  Especially since we look exactly the same as the night we died.  In fact, how is anyone going to react?  No spell can reawaken the dead and somehow we managed it.  Also, it seems like the entire wizarding world knows our story and believes us to be dead.”  She replied.  She did have a very good point.

“I know Lily, and I agree, but we do need to talk to Dumbledore.  Hogwarts is probably the best place for us at the moment.  We can’t be wandering around like everything is normal.  Everyone thinks we are dead.”  I replied.  Lily nodded and we held hands and apparated to the Shrieking Shack.

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

Once we had gone through the tunnel from the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow, I had an idea.  I turned to James.

“Can you still transform?  I have an idea that will get us there quicker once we get through the passage.”  I asked him.  James smirked at me, knowing exactly what my idea was.  He nodded and transformed into a beautiful red stag.  Once he transformed back, we walked through the passage that went from the Shrieking Shack and came out to the Whomping Willow.  Once we were out of the passage, we took a moment to look up at the castle, smiling at the memories we both had there.  A few minutes later, James transformed into a stag once more.  Once he did, I mounted him and he galloped up towards the castle.  We got to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and James changed back.  Since it was night, we had a good chance of not being seen.  There was no one in the hallways so either they were all having dinner or in their dorms by now.  We needed to get to the Headmaster’s office.  Quickly. 

\---


	2. Chapter 2

**DUMBLEDORE’S POV**

 

I was in my office pacing.  I knew something had happened.  Something big.  I had felt a huge wave of power, but I didn’t know where from.  Suddenly, I heard a loud knock on my office door.  Who would be here so late?  

“Come in.”  I called, getting up from my desk.  The door opened revealing a man and a woman.  I was in shock.  These two had been dead for 12 years, how are they here?  

“Death Eaters!  How did you get in and how _dare_ you impersonate Lily and James Potter!”  I exclaimed, raising my wand at them.  James stood in front of Lily in an attempt to protect her.

“No, Albus, listen, it is us!”  James exclaimed.  “We can prove it to you.”  He added.  I glared at him, not lowering my wand.  “How?”  I asked.  Without a word, James transformed into a large stag in the middle of my office.  Even someone drinking polyjuice potion would not be able to transform into that person’s animagus form.  That’s when I knew they weren’t lying.

“It is us.”  Lily said as James transformed back to normal.

“How?  You died?”  I asked in shock.  No spell can reawaken the dead, so how are they even here?

“We have no idea.  We woke up in our coffins earlier tonight, managing to get out of them.  Once we figured out we were in Godric’s Hollow, we went straight back to our house, finding it destroyed.  We saw the plaque and we know that Harry survived.  He’s at Hogwarts, correct?”  James replied.

“Yes, he is at Hogwarts.  He _should_ be in bed right now, but knowing him, he is probably awake and doing something.”  I replied, a slight smirk on my face.  

“Even though I want to see him right this second with all my heart, I know that we should at least wait until morning.”  James said rationally.  Lily looked sad, but nodded, as she also knew that this was a good idea.

“What’s he like?”  Lily asked longingly, wanting to know as much about her son as possible.

“He is the perfect combination of you both.  If he and James were to stand next to each other they would look like twins, except Harry has your eyes Lily.  He has James’ talent for trouble, but also is a very kind and caring person.  He’s incredibly brave and will risk his own wellbeing to make sure that others, especially those he cares about, are safe.”  I described to them.  “He is in Gryffindor House, and is also an amazing Quidditch player.  He has been Seeker on the Gryffindor team since his first year.  He’s a natural on a broom.”  I told them.  James was grinning and Lily had a loving smile on her face.

“He sounds amazing.”  Lily said in wonder, longing to meet her son.

“He is, especially with the environment he grew up in.”  I replied.  I probably shouldn’t have said that.

“What do you mean?  Sirius couldn’t have been _that_ bad.”  James exclaimed.

“He wasn’t with Sirius.”  I revealed.  Both James and Lily looked shocked.

“Excuse me?  We gave specific instructions that if anything happened to us, Harry was to go to Sirius!”  James exclaimed, clearly horrified.

“Who did he grow up with?”  Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at me.  By the look on her face, I think she had an idea but hoped she was wrong.

“The Dursleys.”  I answered, prepared for the screaming I was about to receive.

“What?!  Why would you ever _consider_ sending him there?!  Weren’t we specific enough in our Wills that Harry was not to go the Dursleys _under any circumstances!_ ”  Lily exclaimed.  

“Sirius was in Azkaban and they were the only family he had left.  He can tell you what his life was like growing up.”  I explained.

“Wait, WHAT?!  Why was Sirius in Azkaban?”  James asked in both confusion and shock.

“He was sentenced without a trial to life imprisonment in Azkaban for betraying you both to You-Know-Who, and murdering Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles.  He escaped a few weeks ago and I am sure he is heading to Hogwarts.  Everyone is under the impression that he is, and always has been, a big supporter of You-Know-Who and that he is coming after Harry in order to kill him.”  I told them grimly.  Both of them looked absolutely shocked.  However, the shock quickly faded and it was replaced by anger.

“It was Pettigrew!  He was our secret keeper and the only one who knew of our location.  Sirius is innocent!  Sirius would not do something like that.”  James growled.  Lily looked furious at this, more furious than I had ever seen her.

“You should know though, Sirius escaped from Azkaban a few weeks ago though.  No one knows how he did it.”  I added.

“I have an idea.”  James said quietly.  I looked at him, knowing immediately what his idea was.  Both Lily and I nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

“Plus, if Sirius _did_ kill Pettigrew, he deserved it for betraying us.”  James snapped, a frown forming on his face.

“I agree.”  Lily said with a similar tone and expression.

“Well, it is getting pretty late, so I suggest we all head to bed.  Would it be alright with you if you slept in here for tonight?  We do not want anyone to find out that you two are alive just yet.  That would be…complicated.  We will deal with all of this in the morning.”  I suggested.  Both of them nodded.

“I think that is a very good idea.  Anywhere you have for us is fine.”  Lily replied.

I conjured up a bed for them on the floor that they could sleep on.

“I will meet you back up here in the morning and we can discuss this further.”  I stated.  They both nodded and we all headed to bed.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**HARRY’S POV**

 

I was looking at the Marauder’s Map and I saw something very strange.  According to Fred and George, this map doesn’t lie about who is here and where they are.  I was up late having a look at the Marauder’s map when I saw something very strange.  Names of two people I knew to be dead in Dumbledore’s office.

 

_Lily Potter._

_James Potter._

 

The map must be broken.  There is no way that it could possibly be correct.  I put it out of my mind and kept looking.  A few minutes later, another name of someone I know to be dead came up.

He was walking past the Charms classroom.

 

_Peter Pettigrew._

 

Now I was even more confused.  Does this map actually work?  Why is it showing dead people?  Suddenly, Ron woke up.

“Spi-Spiders, they want me to tap dance, I don’t wanna tap dance!”  Ron exclaimed.

“You tell those spiders Ron.”  I said.

“Ok, I’ll tell ‘em, I’ll tell…”  He nodded before he fell back asleep and started snoring.  I then decided to go and check it out.  I know I shouldn’t be out of bed, but I couldn’t resist.  I slipped out of bed, putting my shoes on in the process.  I walked down the stairs and out of the common room, making my way towards where I saw Pettigrew’s name.  I couldn’t get into Dumbledore’s office at this hour, so I’d check that out tomorrow.

I walked towards the location that the map showed the location of Pettigrew, but still nothing.  I stopped in front of the Room of Doom.  I know I shouldn’t have been doing this.  I saw Pettigrew getting ever closer, and I was looking around for him.  No one was there.  Even when the map said he was right next to me, no one was there.  Then, I saw Professor Snape coming this way.  I was about to get caught.  

“Mischief Managed.”  I said, pointing to the map.  “Nox.”  I added, putting the light of my wand out.  A second later, a light appeared, illuminating both my face and the face of Professor Snape.  I prepared myself for a lecture that I knew was going to come.  “Potter.”  He stated.  He then launched into a lecture about how I didn’t listen to anyone about their concern for my safety.  It sounded as if he was trying to get me annoyed enough so that I would tell the truth as to what I was actually doing out this late.  It wasn’t going to work.  Then, however, he said something that got me angry, but I didn’t show it.

“How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter.”  Snape said, his eyes glinting.  “He, too, was exceedingly arrogant.  A small amount of talent on the Quidditch Pitch made him think he was cut out above the rest of us, too.  Strutting around the castle with his friends and admirers…resemblance between you is uncanny.”  He sneered.

“My Dad didn’t strut.”  I replied sassily.  “And nor do I.”  I added.  “Now, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you lowered your wand.”  I said, trying not to sound too sassy.  He did as I asked, glaring at me as he did so.

“Turn out your pockets.”  He said suddenly.  “Now.”  He added.  I did so to reveal the blank parchment, which had held the map moments before.  “What’s this?”  He asked.

“Spare bit of parchment.”  I stated.  He glared at me.

“Really?  Open it.”  He ordered.  I did as he asked.  He then pointed his wand at it.  “Reveal your secrets.”  Snape said, pointing to the paper, which he did not know was a map.  Writing suddenly appeared on its smooth surface.  “Read it.”  Snape ordered.

“ _Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.”_ I read off the map, Snape was in shock, but writing continued to form on the pages so I continued to read them.  “ _Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git_.”  I continued.  This would have been hilarious if the situation had not been so serious.

“ _Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor_.”

“ _Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape a good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball_.”

 **“** Why you insolent little-”

“Professor.”  I heard the voice of Professor Lupin.  Snape turned around quickly to face Professor Lupin.

“Well, well, Lupin.  Out for a little walk in the moonlight are we?”  He asked.

“Harry.  Are you alright?”  Professor Lupin asked me, ignoring Professor Snape’s previous comment.

“That remains to be seen.”   Professor Snape stated.  He then snatched the piece of parchment from my hands.  “I have just confiscated a rather curious artifact form Mr Potter.  Take a look Lupin, it’s supposed to be your area of expertise, clearly it’s full of dark magic.”  He stated, giving the ‘parchment’ to Lupin, who inspected it.

“Oh, I seriously doubt it Severus, it looks to me as if it’s merely a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it.  I suspect it’s a Zonco’s product.”  Professor Lupin replied, chuckling slightly.  Professor Snape reached for it, but Professor Lupin pulled it away.  “Nevertheless, I should investigate any hidden qualities it may possess, it is as you say _my area of expertise._ ”  Professor Lupin stated, folding up the map as he did so.  He then turned to me.  “Harry, would you join me please?”  Professor Lupin requested.  He then turned to Professor Snape.  “Professor, good night.”  He bid Professor Snape goodnight and then led me back to his office.  The walk back to Professor Lupin’s office was eerily quiet.

Once we got back to his office, Professor Lupin began to speak.

“Come in.  Now I haven’t the faintest idea how this map came to be into your possession, and frankly, I am _astounded_ that you didn’t hand it in.”  Professor Lupin said.  “Did it never occur to you that this in the hands of Sirius Black is a map to you?”  He asked.  I shook my head.

“No Sir.”  I whispered.

“Now your father never set much store by the rules either, but he and your mother gave their lives to save yours.  Gambling on their sacrifice by wandering around the castle, unprotected, with a killer on the loose seems like a pretty poor way to repay them.”  Professor Lupin replied.  “Now I will not cover for you again, do you understand me Harry?”  I said seriously.

“Yes Sir.”  I replied.

“I want you to return to your dormitory and stay there.  And don’t take any detours.  If you do, I shall know.”  Professor Lupin said, tapping the map.  He obviously knew what it was and how it worked.  Wait… _How?_ I nodded and headed towards the exit, but paused before I got there.

“Professor, just so you know, I don’t think that map always works.”  I said.

“What do you mean?”  He asked curiously.

“Earlier on it showed three people in the castle.  Three people I know to be dead.”  I replied.

“Oh really? Who might those be?”  He asked skeptically.  

“My parents, and Peter Pettigrew.”  I replied honestly.

“That’s not possible.”  Professor Lupin said in disbelief.

“It’s just what I saw.  Goodnight Professor.”  I replied, before making my way back to my dorm.  

 

**REMUS’S POV**

 

That’s not possible.  As Harry walked out of the room, I was left to my own thoughts.  How in the hell is that possible? All three of them have been dead for the past 12 years.  The map never lies, and yet it is showing people who are long dead.  I went to James and Lily’s funerals.  I saw their bodies.  How is this possible?

 


	4. Chapter 4

* _The Next Morning_ *

 

**LILY'S POV**

 

James and I had both woken up quite early and were now waiting for Professor Dumbledore to arrive back in his office.  

“You know, this reminds me of our time at Hogwarts.  The number of times you had been sent here is insane."  I said to James.  He chuckled.

"You're not wrong."  He replied.  Before either of us could say anything else, the door opened.  Both of us looked towards the door to see Professor Dumbledore, holding some clothes.

"Good morning.  I brought you some clothes to wear."  He stated, handing the clothes to us.  "Now, my suggestion is reintroducing you slowly.  I mean, you have both been dead for 12 years.  The first people to know will be Harry, his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Professor Lupin and Professor McGonnegal."  Dumbledore told us.  

"Wait, Remus is here?"  James asked, a twinkle in his eyes and a smile forming on his face.

"Yes.  He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts."  Dumbledore told us.  James chuckled and I smiled.  That had always been one of Remus' favorite classes.  “I shall send for all of them.”  Dumbledore stated, before he left his office.

 

* _10 Minutes Later_ *

 

James and I were waiting anxiously until Dumbledore got back with everyone.  We heard voices outside the door.

“We’re in trouble again.”  I heard a male voice whine.

“Don’t be so pessimistic Ron!  Dumbledore just said he needed to talk to us!”  A female voice replied.

“Ron’s got a point Hermione.  Whenever we are all here together, we are in some form of trouble.”  Another young male voice stated. 

“Not you too Harry!”  The girl-Hermione complained.  James and I looked at each other.  

“I doubt any of you are in trouble.  Dumbledore just requested for you to wait outside his office until he gets back.”  I heard an older male voice explain.  Hold on, is that…?

“Calm yourselves.  None of you are in trouble.  You are here because I need to talk to you all.  But first, I need to give me all your wands.”  I heard Dumbledore say.

“Why?”  Hermione asked.

“You’ll see.”  Dumbledore said.  After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a young red-headed boy with freckles and blue eyes, a girl with bushy brown hair and brown eyes, a young boy with jet black hair who looked almost identical to James except he had green eyes…my eyes, one of our oldest friends – Remus Lupin, and one of our old teachers – Professor McGonagall.  All of them looked shocked for a moment before hell broke loose.

“DEATH EATERS!”  McGonagall screamed.

“How DARE you take the form of my parents?!”  Harry exclaimed.  All three of them were demanding their wands back so they could attack us.

The other two students – Ron and Hermione – were too shocked to say anything right now.  James and I looked at each other and we stood up.  I nodded to him.  Immediately, James transformed into his animagus form of a stag.  Everyone fell silent.  They all knew that even with polyjuice potion, a wizard could not take the animagus form that the wizard was trying to impersonate.  Then again, it was impossible to come back from the dead, but we somehow managed it.  James then transformed back.

“Mum?  Dad?”  Harry asked in a small voice, his eyes sparkled with wonder.

“Yes darling it is us.”  I replied with a warm smile.

“But, how?”  Remus asked.  Both James and I looked at him.

“We have no idea.”  James replied.  Before anyone could say anything else, Harry ran to me and embraced me in a hug.  James then joined the hug from behind Harry.  Our family is finally whole again.

“I missed you so much.”  Harry said to us.

“We missed you too honey.”  I replied.

“Would you be prepared to take some Veritaserum?  I don’t doubt you, but just to be sure.”  Dumbledore asked.

“That’s fine.”  I said.  We drank the potion he gave us then, he began asking us questions.

“Full name.”  Dumbledore asked.

“Lily Jane Potter.”  I replied.

“James Fleamont Potter.” James replied.

( _A/N:  No middle names were given for Lily or James in the series, all I know for Lily’s is that it begins with a ‘J’, and I’ve put James’ father’s name as his middle name since Harry has James as his middle name_ )

“Date of Birth.”  Dumbledore said.

“30 January 1960.”  I replied.

“27 March 1960.”  James replied.

“Hogwarts House.”  Dumbledore said.

“Gryffindor.”  We both replied at the same time.  We looked at each other and smiled.

“Best friends.”  Dumbledore asked.

“Previously Severus Snape, is now Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.”  I replied.

“Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.”  James said confidently.

“James, your animagus form and nickname.”

“Stag, and my nickname is Prongs.”  James replied confidently.

“Person who betrayed you all.”  Dumbledore said.

“Peter Pettigrew.”  We both said at the same time, venom in our voices and looks of anger on our faces.  Everyone was looking at us closely as we were answering and it surprised all of them at the amount of venom and anger we showed at that last question.  

“If it wasn’t for him, Voldemort never would have found us.  If it wasn’t for him, we would have been able to see Harry grow up, Sirius wouldn’t have gone to Azkaban, and Harry wouldn’t have grown up with the my pathetic excuse of a sister and her whale of a husband.”  I said, the venom still present in my voice.  Everyone, except for James, was shocked at how I was speaking.  I shook my head to clear my thoughts from _him._   “Regardless, we are here now and we are here to stay.”  I added.  Remus still looked a little sceptical.

“Outsiders may know facts, but there is more than that.  Life is made up of more than that.  It is made up of moments, you can’t possibly know all of them.”  Remus added.  Everyone looked at him.  “James.  What was the reason you chose to become an unregistered animagus?”  He asked.

“The reason was to help you go through your transformations each month as you are much less likely to attack animals than you are humans and we didn’t want you to have to go through it alone.  We decided to remain unregistered due to the fact that we didn’t want to spill your secret.  It took Sirius, Peter, and I three years to find out exactly how to do it, and another two to perfect the process, but by fifth year, we could change at will.  I turned into a stag, Sirius into a dog, and Peter into a rat.”  James replied honestly.  Remus nodded at this, obviously satisfied at the answer.  He then turned to me.  “Lily, when did you find out I was a werewolf and what was your reaction when we told you?”  He asked.

“Seventh year, I wondered where my boyfriend and his friends went each month of a full moon and why he was so exhausted the next day.  I had a theory, but I didn’t know for sure.  I decided just to go and ask you.  My reaction was understanding of why you all kept it a secret, and I promised you that you could trust me not to tell anyone.  I also asked if there was anything I could do to help.”  I replied. He nodded again, satisfied with the answer.

“Ok, we believe you.”  Remus said suddenly, remembering all these moments.  He then met James in a hug.  I smiled at this.  I looked over at Harry, who was in shock.  I immediately went over to hug him.  As soon as I had my arms around him, he hugged me back just as tightly.

“I missed you Mum.”  He stated, burying his head in the crook of my neck.

“I missed you too darling.”  I replied lovingly.  Tears brimmed in my eyes as I hugged my baby.  “I am so sorry that you had to grow up with the Dursleys.”  I said softly, my eyes sad.

“It’s alright Mum.  You’re here now.”  He replied with a smile.

“Yes we are, and we always will be.”  I promised him.  I pulled away and looked at him lovingly.  

“Thank you.”  He stated.  I looked at him curiously.

“For what?”  I asked, not quite sure what he meant.

“Giving your life for me.”  He replied.  “If you didn’t stand in the way and refuse to step aside, I wouldn’t be alive, and You-Know-Who would still be actively terrorizing the world.”  He added.

“I would do it a thousand times over as long as you were safe.”  I said, bringing him into another hug.  This time, I felt James’ arms around us as well.  The three of us finally reunited once more.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**LILY’S POV**

 

Suddenly, the boy and girl who had walked in with the others walked over to us.  Ron and Hermione if I remember correctly.

“Mum, Dad, these are my best friends.”  Harry introduced them both to James and I.

“Hello Mr and Mrs Potter, my name’s Ron Weasley.”  The red-head introduced himself.

“And I’m Hermione Granger.”  The girl introduced herself.

“It’s lovely to meet you both.  Please, call me Lily.”  I replied, shaking their hands.

“Mr Potter was my father’s name.  Call me James.”  James added with a grin.  I smiled at him.  Both Ron and Hermione smiled at us.

“You look so young!”  Ron said.  I laughed.

“Ron!”  Hermione scolded, hitting him on the arm.

“It’s alright Hermione.  James and I did die at 21.”  I mentioned.  “I don’t think we’ve aged since then.”  I said smiling.  They both laughed.  

We talked for a while longer before Remus came up to me and hugged me tightly.  I hugged him back just as tight.

“I missed you and Lily.”  He said softly.

“I missed you too Remus.”  I replied.

 

**REMUS' POV**

 

Even though we have tested them and everything, it is still unbelievable that James and Lily are alive again.  I lost each and every one of my best friends in one way or another because of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and having at least one of them back is more than I could ever ask for.  I wonder how James is going to react when he finds out that Sirius was sent to Azkaban after he and Lily were murdered?  I bet he is going to freak.  Or even how Sirius has escaped from Azkaban and is on his way to Hogwarts.  If Dumbledore has told him, he has probably already figured out how Sirius did it, as I have.  I watched Lily and James hugging Harry and a smiled formed on my face.  I am so happy that Harry has his parents back, even though it has been 12 years.  I walked over to Ron and Hermione, who currently had massive smiles on their faces.  

“It's beautiful isn't it?  To see Harry so happy, finally reunited with his mother and father.”  Hermione commented.

“Yeah.  It's amazing to see Harry so happy.  I am glad he doesn't have to live with his aunt and uncle anymore.”  Ron added.

“Even though I know it to be true, I still cannot believe that James and Lily have returned.  I don't think I've ever seen Harry so happy in the whole time I have known him.”  McGonagall said, all of us nodded at this, smiling as we looked at him. 

“What are you going to tell the rest of the staff, Professor?”  Hermione asked McGonagall.  

“The truth.”  McGonagall said simply.  “We tell them that James and Lily Potter are alive.  James, Lily, you need to come with us for them to believe it.”  She added.  She then thought of something.  “Do you want to see Professor Snape first, and then we’ll tell the rest of the staff?”  She asked.

“Severus is here?”  Lily asked in shock.  James mirrored her expression, but I knew it was for a different reason.

“ _Professor_ Snape?  Don’t tell me that ol’ git teaches here now.”  James said in a disbelieving voice.  I had to hold back a laugh at this.  Classic James.  Harry, and Ron, on the other hand, burst out laughing.  Hermione just rolled her eyes.

“James!”  Lily snapped.  James raised his hands in surrender.

“We can go and see him before we tell the rest of the staff if you like.  I suggest you all come with us so that he doesn’t try to kill us as soon as he sees us.”  James suggested.  The first sentence was just to Lily, and then the latter to the rest of us.  We all nodded.

I saw something in James’ eyes just then.  Not many would have noticed it as it was there and gone in a matter of seconds, but I had known him for years and it didn’t pass me up.  He was nervous.  Nervous of how Snape might react to seeing him and Lily again.  I know he believes that Snape blames him for Lily’s death, and no matter how confident he acts, I am sure that there is a hidden fear of Snape somewhere inside him.

“So, what is _Professor_ Snape like as a teacher?”  James asked Harry.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione simultaneously cringed.  All of us stopped.

“What is it?”  Lily asked in concern.

“Tell us.”  James said.

“Professor Snape is very cold, patronizing, and snarky.  He’s also highly sarcastic, and not in a good way.  He seems to have some form of vendetta towards Gryffindor for some reason, taking every opportunity he can to take points _off_ Gryffindor.  He also seems to have a personal grudge against Harry.”  Ron stated.  Lily looked absolutely shocked.  James only looked surprised at the “grudge against Harry” part.  ( _A/N: Remember, this is Prisoner of Azkaban, and Snape is not revealed as a double agent/misunderstood hero yet, Dumbledore is the only one who knows_ _._ )

“Mr Weasley!  That’s not a very nice thing to say.  Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, you should treat him with respect.”  McGonagall scolded him.

“Sorry Professor.”  Ron mumbled.

“That goes for you as well Mr Potter.”  She said, referring to James.  James rolled his eyes at this.

“Hey!  I didn’t say anything!”  James complained.  I smiled at this.  Lily looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

“You were thinking it.”  Lily stated.  James paused for a moment.

“True.”  He replied.  Everyone began laughing at that.  God, it was so good to have him and Lily back.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**SNAPE’S POV**

 

I was sitting in my office marking tests.  I had just marked that of Hermione Granger, and no matter how much I disliked her, I couldn’t deny that she was an exceptionally gifted witch.  I assume the reason I didn't like her was not because she was so intelligent, no, it was because she reminded me of Lily.  Not in looks, but in other ways.  Like the loyalty she shows her friends and the fact that she would stand up for them and protect them as best she could no matter what, and the fact that, even though she is a Gryffindor - also like Lily - she is extremely intelligent.  I always felt sad when I thought of Lily.  We had been friends since we were children, but our friendship had ended when I called her that word, that unforgivable word that no muggle-born should ever be called.  I never forgave myself for it and I never will.  

 

She was my best friend and the woman I loved, and in a fit of anger and embarrassment, whilst Potter and his gang were teasing me, I called her the most unforgivable word you could possible call a witch or wizard who is muggle-born.  A Mudblood.  I called Lily a mudblood when all she was trying to do was stand up for me and defend me.  No matter how much I tried to apologize, she never accepted my apology.  It was one of the things that ultimately destroyed our friendship.  The other two being her love for Potter, and the fact that I started to dabble in Dark Magic, which Lily never approved of.  I have regretted it ever since.  

 

A knock on the door broke me out of the trance I had somehow found myself in. 

"Come in."  I said, my voice sounding highly monotonous.  The door opened and I was faced with Professor Dumbledore, along with Harry Potter.  I raised an eyebrow, my expression still stony.  "Can I help you?"  I asked, my voice cold.

"Yes, Severus, actually, you can."  Dumbledore stated.  My expression remained unchanged, and he knew I was waiting for him to continue.  "There are two people I want you to meet.  However, it is a bit of a delicate situation.  They are not supposed to be here in that they are both supposed to be dead.  We, Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, Harry, and I, have done all the necessary tests and we know that it is actually them."  He said, a smile on his face.

"Get to the point Headmaster."  I said in a borderline annoyed tone.

"I need to take your wand for a moment so that you won't harm them.  Well, one in particular."  He added.  My eyes narrowed at him and I cautiously handing my wand to him.  I waited for his next move.  "You can come in now."   He called to someone I couldn't see.  Suddenly two people walked in.  Two people I knew to be dead.  I saw their bodies, felt her cold body in my arms as I cried for my lost love that night.  Now, bright eyed and very, very much alive, were James and Lily Potter.  My expression turned from that of cold annoyance to absolute shock in a matter of seconds.  

"Lily?"  I asked as I gazed upon my childhood friend.

"Yes Severus, we are here."  She replied, smiling at me.

"How?"  I asked them both.  Everyone knew that no spell or enchantment could raise the dead.  If that were possible, multiple people would have done it already, including me.

"We don't know."  She replied.

"Snape?"  James asked.  I turned to him and looked at him, my face unreadable.  "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how Sirius and I treated you in school."  James said.  I was shocked.  James Potter, the boy who teased me relentlessly at school and basically made my school years hell, was apologizing to me.  "You don't have to forgive me, in fact, I don't expect you to.  I can't even begin to imagine how much you must hate me, and I don't blame you.  The way we treated you at school was horrible.  But I am sorry none the less."  He said.  

"You're right, I do hate you.  But, because Lily loves you so much, it _might_ be possible for me to forgive you eventually.  However, it will not be overnight.  Black on the other hand, will never gain my forgiveness for betraying the both of you to the Dark Lord."  I stated.  Both James and Lily suddenly had dark and angry looks on their faces.  What did I say?

"Sirius never laid a hand on us, nor did he betray us."  Lily stated angrily.  

"It was Pettigrew, the dirty rat sold us to Voldemort."  James snarled.  Everyone flinched at his name.  "Now we find out that Sirius went to Azkaban without a trial for a crime he didn't commit!"  He exclaimed.  I was shocked at this.  Pettigrew was their secret keeper?  Pettigrew betrayed them.  Everyone, myself included, had always believed it to be Black.  No matter how much I still hated Potter and Black, Pettigrew had moved to my “ _number 1 hated person_ ”.  I felt annoyance that Black had killed him because now I longed to do it.

“Wormtail?  He betrayed you?  But didn’t Black kill him?”  I clarified, one of my eyebrows raised.

“No.  I thought so too until Harry mentioned seeing Wormtail on the Marauders Map.  The map never lies and that’s what gave me further proof that these are actually James and Lily.”  Lupin responded, indicating to the Potters.  My face remained stony, but I believed what they were saying.

“Who else knows?  That you have returned.”  I asked Lily and James.

“Only Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and you.”  Lily replied.  

“And how do you think the rest of the staff and students, in fact the rest of the wizarding world, are going to react to having two people who have been dead for 12 years suddenly come back to life?”  I asked.  “You have to also note that there isn’t a wizard alive today doesn’t know your story.  How you both sacrificed your lives for Harry and how he defeated the Dark Lord.”  I added.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**LILY’S POV**

 

“Snape, we honestly don’t know.  This is the issue here.  The Ministry of Magic isn’t going to take this lightly.  There are going to be inquests, more tests, and a lot of paperwork.”  James stated.

“Obviously.”  Severus stated, rolling his eyes.

 

**SNAPE’S POV**

 

“Let me speak to Severus alone please?”  Lily requested.  Dumbledore nodded and everyone walked out of the room.  Lily turned to me.  “What happened to you Sev?  When did you become like this?  You were not like this when I knew you.”  She asked.  I didn’t say anything.  I couldn’t think of anything to say actually.  She was right and we both knew it.  She then narrowed her eyes at me.  “And why do you bully my son?  Is it because you still have some schoolboy grudge against James, so you take it out on my son?”  She added.  “That is pathetic.  Do you blame James for our friendship ending?  If you recall, as I do, James was not the person who ended our friendship Severus.  You were.”  She finished.  The last two words hit me hard.

“I know that Lily.  I have been living with that knowledge ever since it happened.  But it was because of Potter and his gang that I got so angry and embarrassed.”  I tried to defend myself, but I knew she would have none of it.

“Don’t try to deflect blame onto James, Severus.  It wasn’t just you calling me a Mudblood that ruined our friendship, it was also you practicing Dark Magic, specifically when I told you not to, along with the friends you kept.  You are bitter about the fact that I married James.  I know you are.  But you cannot do anything about it.  I love him, I have a son with him, and I am never going to leave him.  You had your chance, and _you_ were the one who screwed up.”  Lily said, her green eyes dark with anger.  Lily then spun around and walked out of my office, obviously making her way back to James and the others.  I looked down at the papers I still had to mark and I knew that she was right.  She was right about everything. 

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

Stormed out of the room.  I could tell that everyone could see the angry look on my face.  James walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Lily?  Sweetheart?  Are you alright?”  James asked in a soothing tone.

“He tried to deflect blame for our friendship ending onto you!”  I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in frustration.

“Lily, calm down.  It was partially my fault, but he had no right to call you that horrible word.”  James said, rubbing my arms in a vain attempt to try to calm me down.

“Mum and Professor Snape were _friends_?”  Harry asked in disbelief.

“A long, long time ago.  But he did something that I never forgave him for.”  I revealed.

“What did he do?”  Harry asked cautiously, on the verge of wanting to know and not.

“In a fit of embarrassment and rage when Sirius and I were teasing him, Snape called your mother a mudblood when all she was doing was trying to defend him.”  James told Harry.  Harry’s face morphed from curiosity and caution to one of pure horror and shock.  I could tell that even though he hated and feared Severus, he still never thought he would call someone a mudblood.

“No he didn’t.”  Harry exclaimed, a horrified look on his face.  

“Yes, he did.”  I replied.  “I told him to get stuffed and stop bullying Harry and the rest of Gryffindor, well, not in those exact words, but still.”  I stated.

“Go Mum!”  Harry exclaimed with a smile.  “I think you are probably the only person who would tell him that without a month’s detention and points taken off your house.”  He added smirking.  I noticed that he looked even more like his father at his age with that smirk on his face and the twinkle in his eyes.

“Thanks honey.”  I smiled.  “Also, Dumbledore, thank you for letting us stay in Hogwarts until such time as we get everything sorted out.”  I thanked him.

“It’s quite alright Lily.  I am just glad you are back and Harry finally has a loving family.”  Dumbledore replied with a smile.

 

**HERMIONE’S POV**

 

Ron and I were walking back to the Gryffindor common room.

“I am so glad that Harry has his parents back.  I don’t think I have ever seen him this happy before.”  I commented.

“I know.  It’s great to see.”  Ron replied.  “James and Lily are also really nice people.  It still shocks me how much Harry looks like James though.”  He added.

“Yeah, it is weird.  Although, I think we should refrain from talking about James and Lily until Dumbledore gives us the ok.”  I suggested.

“I agree so keep it quiet for now.”  Ron replied.  Just then, we got to the Fat Lady.

“Fortuna Major.”  I said to her, a smile on my face.  She smiled back and the door to the Gryffindor common room opened.

 

**RON’S POV**

 

Hermione and I walked into the Gryffindor common room to see Ginny sitting in front of the fire reading a book.

“Hi Ginny.”  Hermione greeted her with a smile.

“Hi Hermione, Ron.”  She greeted us.  “Where’s Harry?”  She asked, knowing that it was uncommon that the three of us weren’t together at any given time.

“He’s with Dumbledore.  He said he needed to talk to Harry.”  I said, not exactly telling the truth, but not lying either.  She nodded, accepting our explanation.

 

**HARRY’S POV**

 

I was so happy to have my parents back.  I felt happier than I have ever been and it is all thanks to them.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**HERMIONE’S POV**

 

Ron, Harry, and I were currently with Harry’s parents in Dumbledore’s office just talking and getting to know them.  James even said that it was wonderful to meet the two people who were the main source of Harry’s happiness over the past 12 years, even if we have only known each other for three.  I had found out yesterday though, that Hagrid had lost his case for Buckbeak and Buckbeak had now been sentenced to death.  I hadn’t told them as of yet because I didn’t want to ruin Harry’s happiness.  I needed to though, 

“Hermione?”  I heard Lily’s voice ask.  My head snapped up and I looked at her.  “You seem troubled.  What is it?”  She asked in a motherly tone.

“Hagrid sent me a note earlier.  He lost his case.  Buckbeak is to be executed.  The Ministry has allowed him to come back to Hogwarts though.”  I said, directing my statement at Harry and Ron.  Everyone, including James and Lily – who didn’t even know the full story, looked absolutely shocked.

“He is?”  Harry asked shakily.  I nodded at this.  Ron and Harry embraced me in a hug.

“What happened?  Who is Buckbeak?”  Lily asked curiously.

“Buckbeak is Hagrid’s pet Hippogriff.  In one of our lessons for Care of Magical Creatures, which Hagrid is now teaching, he showed us Buckbeak and taught us about Hippogriffs.  Malfoy offended Buckbeak, which he was warned not to do, and Buckbeak attacked him.  He told his father and, long story short, Buckbeak is to be executed because, according to Malfoy’s father, Buckbeak is a dangerous creature who would kill you as soon as he looked at you.”  I explained, a sad expression on my face.  Everyone was now looking very sad.

“Malfoy, as in Lucius Malfoy?”  Lily clarified.

“His son Draco.”  Ron replied.

“Got it.”  James said. 

“He sounds awful to me.”  Lily stated.

“He is.  He’s a real Daddy’s boy as well.  He always says ‘ _My Father Will Hear About This_ ’ whenever something doesn’t go his way.”  Ron stated.  Harry and James laughed at this.

“So he can’t even stand up for himself?  He has to get Daddy to do it for him?”  James confirmed, raising an eyebrow.  Harry, Ron, and I nodded.  James rolled his eyes.  “That’s pathetic really.”  He stated offhandedly.  His eyes then lit up with a cheeky spark, similar to that of the Weasley twins.

“James?  What are you doing?”  Lily asked, obviously knowing that look.

“You want to get back at him, correct?”  James asked the three of us, basically ignoring Lily.

“More than anything.”  Ron said, his face turning angry.

“Ok.  We’re not gonna use violence, but here’s what we’ll do…” James began, a smirk on his face.  “We’ll save Buckbeak.  That way, you will not get in trouble, and even if he tells his father, Lucius will not believe him because people are not supposed to come back from the dead.”  He suggested.  

“But how will you save him?”  Ron asked.

“That’s what we need to figure out.  But we will think of something.  I know we will.”  Lily stated, a look of determination on her face.

“We should probably warn the teachers first though.”  I suggested.  All of them nodded in response to this. 

“Agreed.  Could you go and find Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore?”  Lily asked.  “They know so they should organise this.”  We all nodded.  “All of you should go because as much as we want to spend time with Harry, it’ll be suspicious if you and Ron started to be seen without him seeing as, according to Harry, you are always together.”  She added.

“I agree.”

“Don’t worry darling, we aren’t going to disappear.  I promise.”  Lily said, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek.  The three of us then made our way from Dumbledore’s office to find Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore.

 

* _A few hours later_ *

 

**MCGONAGALL’S POV**

 

It was time to tell all the staff about the Potters’ resurrection.  I am not completely sure as to what the reactions would be, but I know that we need to tell them.  The three Potters, Mr Weasley, and Miss Granger were there as well since 

 

* _All the staff gathered together_ *

 

All the staff were gathered together in Dumbledore’s office, James and Lily standing behind the doors with Dumbledore.

“Minerva, what is this about?”  Pomona asked.

“This is going to sound impossible, and I thought it was as well.  But there has been an impossible turn of events.  However, Remus and Severus can tell you that these two people are who they say they are.”  I explained.

“What do you mean Minerva?”  Filius asked.

“Albus, you may bring them in now.”  I called to Dumbledore.  Dumbledore then entered the room with all three Potters, Miss Granger, and Mr Weasley.  All the staff around me gasped.  They must have noticed that James and Lily had not aged a day since they graduated Hogwarts.

“James?  Lily?”  Hagrid asked a look of disbelief but hope on his face.  In fact, all the staff, bar Severus, Remus, Albus, and I were in shock.

“But, how is this possible?”  Filius asked in shock.  

“That’s what we don’t know.  The last thing I remember is telling Lily to take Harry and run before the door was blasted open.  I then saw a bright green light, then nothing until I woke up in my coffin a few days ago.”  James stated.

“Impossible.”  Poppy breathed in awe, but we all heard her.

“Exactly, no one would know that information because we were the only ones there that night, and Harry would have been too young to remember any of it.”  Lily replied.  Both James and Harry nodded in agreement.  Without saying anything, Hagrid barged through the crowd of Professors and non-teaching staff and enveloped both James and Lily in a huge hug. 

“Who else knows?”  Irma asked curiously.

“No one apart from Dumbledore, Remus, Severus, Harry, Ron, Hermione and myself.”  I replied.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**HARRY’S POV**

 

Well that was an adventure to say the least.  It was strange to watch both the teaching and non-teaching staff’s reactions to my parents being alive.  I’ve never seen them quite like that before.  Honestly, it was quite strange seeing them all speechless.  However, I think they reacted quite well to the news.  

“Well that was interesting.”  I said to Ron.

“Most definitely.  I’ve never seen them like this.”  He replied, a smirk on his face.

“Anyway, Harry has Quidditch tomorrow so he, at least, should get some sleep.  Say goodnight to your parents Harry, we need to go back to our dorm.”  Hermione stated.  I nodded before walking over to my parents.

“Mum, Dad.  Hermione, Ron, and I are going back to our dorm because I have Quidditch tomorrow.  Will you be there?”  I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.  Both of them grinned.

“Most definitely.”  Mum stated immediately.  

“Absolutely.”  Dad added, beaming. 

“Even though you may not see us, we will be there.”  She stated.  “Ok sweetheart, you know where we are if you need us.”  Mum said, before kissing me on the forehead.

“Goodnight Harry.”  Dad added, before giving me a hug.  I smiled at both of them before turning around and walking back to my dorm with my two best friends.

 

* _Time Skip_ \- _In the Gryffindor Common room_ *

 

**RON’S POV**

 

There were smiles on all our faces, not just because Harry had his parents back, but because Hagrid seemed so happy when he saw James and Lily.  All of us love seeing him happy.  He deserves it, especially after what is going to happen to Buckbeak.  I really feel for him.  I would hate if anything happened to Scabbers.  I mean, Hagrid has had some weird and dangerous pets in the past, but Buckbeak is tame compared to something like that giant spider, Aragog, or his three-headed dog, Fluffy.  Well, maybe not _tame_ exactly, but that’s beside the point.  

“When did Hagrid say that Buckbeak was to be executed?”  I asked Hermione cautiously.

“Well, the appeal is tomorrow so let’s just hope he doesn’t choke or anything.  If he sticks to his story, there is no way that they should execute Buckbeak.”  Hermione stated, although that last bit sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that statement rather Harry and I.

“Let’s just hope.”  I replied.

 

* _The Next Day_ *

 

**HARRY’S POV**

 

I was getting ready for Quidditch against Ravenclaw.  We were working extra hard this year to win the Quidditch Cup as it was Oliver Wood’s final year and it was one of his life goals for some reason.  Once I was finally dressed in my uniform, I grabbed my _Firebolt_ , which I had put under my bed, eager to use it for the first time.  Even though I knew it was most likely from Sirius Black, knowing that he is not the one who betrayed my parents and he _wasn’t_ trying to kill me, makes me even more excited to use it.  Even though I will miss my old _Nimbus 2000_ , which has served me well over the past two and a half years, I am excited to try this one out.  I knew this match was going to be special though.  The reason being was that my parents are going to be watching me, and no matter what the outcome, I know they will be proud of me.  

 

Ron and I then went down to the common room to meet Hermione before heading down to breakfast.  I knew that my parents would most likely be in the Teacher’s box, but I didn’t really care where they were, just that they were going to be there.  It felt like my first game of my first year all over again.  I think Ron noticed this because I caught him smiling at me.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so excited for a Quidditch match.”  He commented, a smile on his face as we were walking towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

“I think you know why I am so excited.”  I replied, not specifying exactly what I meant because there were other people around, but he already knew.

“Yes, I know, and I’m excited for you, but you should tone it down just a little or people will start to get suspicious.”  Ron suggested.  I looked at him, nodding as we got to Great Hall.  Hermione was waiting outside for us, as she had something to do this morning, which “we would find out soon”, and the three of us walked in together.

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

I was so excited for today.  I was going to see my son play Quidditch for the first time and I couldn’t be more excited.  I looked over at James and he was practically glowing with excitement and happiness.  I have seen that look exactly four times.  The first when I finally agreed to date him, the second, when I said yes to him asking me to marry him, the third was at our wedding, and the fourth was when Harry was born.  I knew how much he loved Quidditch and how good he was at it so I knew how excited was for this game.  Once James and I were dressed, we ate some of the food that the house elves had brought us for breakfast.  

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I will be using a few quotes and descriptions (which I will change slightly) from the book in this chapter (from the chapter –_ The Quidditch Final) _.  All quotes and descriptions will be from pages 224-230 in_ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban _.  All credit for the amazing descriptions and dialogue used goes to the amazing J.K. Rowling._

 

**HARRY’S POV**

 

As the team and I walked into the Great Hall, we heard cheering.  I looked up and notice that not only were the Gryffindor table cheering for us, but also Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well!  A smile appeared on my face, which could not be removed even by the Slytherin table, which was sneering at us.  I honestly didn’t care what they thought of us, of me, right now.  We walked over and sat at the Gryffindor, Wood insisting that we all ate a substantial breakfast whilst he hardly touched anything himself.  He might have eaten a piece of toast, but nothing substantial.  To humour him, we all ate as much as we needed.  Once we all finished, he rushed us off to the pitch to get an idea for the weather conditions that day.  Once we got there, he looked around and stood there for a bit, analysing the pitch.  He then began muttering to himself about weather conditions, how it would affect our performance, along with other things, before abruptly ordering us to the change rooms.

 

**JAMES’ POV**

 

Dumbledore had given us some robes to wear during the match.  I didn’t care what we wore though, as I was more excited about seeing Harry play Quidditch for the first time.  When I was at school it was my favourite thing to do, bar hanging out with my friends.  

 

* _Later – at the Quidditch match_ *

 

I looked around the pitch to see that three quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them or holding up various banners.  The last quarter was dressed in green and standing behind the Slytherin goalposts, all waving flags embellished with the silver serpent of Slytherin.  

“Here are the Gryffindors!”  The commentator, who was a Gryffindor student, and whose name I learned was Lee Jordan, yelled.  “Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood!  Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-” He commented, but was cut off by a series of ‘boos’ from Slytherin.  This didn’t seem to faze him though.

“And here comes the Slytherin team, led by captain Flint.  He’s made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill-” Lee stated, but was cut off, again, by more ‘boos’ from the Slytherins.  He had a point though, apart from a blond haired kid, Draco Malfoy, from Harry’s description, the entire Slytherin team was enormous.  Madam Hooch ordered the captains of each team, Wood and Flint, to shake hands.  They looked very annoyed at this, but complied anyway.  The captains then walked back to stand with their teams.

“Mount your brooms!”  Madam Hooch stated.  All players on both teams did so and then she grabbed her whistle and began to count down.  “Three…two…one…” At the sound of her whistle, fourteen brooms flew into the air.  I watched as Harry zoomed away to fly off to find the Snitch, Malfoy following him.  I then focused back on the game to watch what was happening.  As much as I wanted to see my son play, I was also excited to see how Gryffindor performed.  Gryffindor had first possession of the Quaffle, and one of the Chasers, Alicia Spinnet from Harry, was heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts.  Lee was quite a good commentator in that he was catching everything that was going on.  

“ANGELINA JOHNSON SCORES!  TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!”

Angelina punched the air as she soared round the end of the pitch; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight when suddenly she was nearly thrown from her broom as the captain of the Slytherin team, whose name I’d learned was Marcus Flint, went smashing into her. 

“Sorry!” said Flint, as the crowd below booed. “Sorry, didn’t see her!”  _Ok, well, that’s rubbish.  She was clearly in your line of sight, there was no way you could have missed her_.

Next moment, one of the Weasley twins had chucked his Beater’s club at the back of Flint’s head. Flint’s nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.  I smirked at this.

“That will do!”  Madam Hooch screamed, zooming between them.  “Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!”

“Come off it, Miss!”  The same Weasley complained, but Madam Hooch paid him not attention.  Instead, she blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty. 

“Come on, Alicia!”  Lee yelled into the silence that had descended on the crowd. “YES! SHE’S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY–ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!”

Flint, still bleeding freely, flew forwards to take the Slytherin penalty.  The Gryffindor keeper, who was also the captain, Oliver Wood, was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, looking very serious. 

“Wood’s a superb Keeper!”  Lee Jordan told the crowd, as Flint waited for Madam Hooch’s whistle.  As soon as she did, Flint attempted to throw the Quaffle into one of the hoops.  Even though it would be a difficult catch for Wood, he caught it none the less.  I smiled, impressed at his skills.  “YES! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! HE’S SAVED IT!”  Lee screamed again.  Once again, play resumed, as did Lee’s commentary.

“Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession – no! – Gryffindor back in possession and it’s Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she’s streaking up the pitch – THAT WAS DELIBERATE!”  He screamed.  A Slytherin Chaser had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, had grabbed her head. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom but dropped the Quaffle. 

Madam Hooch’s whistle rang out again as she soared over to the Slytherin Chaser and began shouting at him.  A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper. 

“THIRTY–ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-” Lee yelled, getting agitated at the Slytherin Chaser.

“Jordan, if you can’t commentate in an unbiased way-!”  Professor McGonagall began.

“I’m telling it like it is, Professor!”  He replied.

I went back to look at Harry.  He was looking at the foot of the Gryffindor goalposts with a glint in his eyes.  He had spotted the snitch.  However, instead of flying towards it, he did the opposite.  With what I could tell was a fake a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt round and sped off towards the Slytherin end.  The Slytherin Seeker flew after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there.  Nice one Harry.

Suddenly, one of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry’s right ear, hit by a gigantic Slytherin Beater.  A moment later, the second Bludger had grazed Harry’s elbow. The other Beater was closing in.  It looked like Harry had a fleeting glimpse of the Beaters zooming towards him, clubs raised, because at the last second, he turned the Firebolt upwards, and the Beaters collided with a sickening crunch.  Dumbledore was right.  Harry is a natural on a broom.  He looks so effortless when he flies, like he is at home.

“Ha haaa!”  Lee Jordan yelled, as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads.  “Too bad, boys! You’ll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!”  He added.  Lee then began commentating on the game again, when suddenly Flint scored.  Cheers erupted from the Slytherin end and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him. 

“Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won’t happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession.”  Lee said.

I was shocked.  This was quickly turning into one of the dirtiest matches I had ever seen at Hogwarts, and it looked like Harry recognized this as well.  Enraged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle.  A Slytherin Beater hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he’d thought she was a Bludger.  One of the Weasley twins elbowed said Beater in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty–ten to Gryffindor. I saw that the Slytherin Seeker was still keeping close to Harry as he soared over the match, looking around for the Snitch.  Suddenly, Katie scored. Fifty-ten. The twins were swooping around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge.  Both Slytherin Seekers took advantage of the twins’ absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.  I honestly felt so bad for him.  I had been winded by a Bludger before, and it was _not_ a comfortable feeling.  Madam Hooch was beside herself. 

“You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area!’ she shrieked at them. “Gryffindor penalty!” 

Again, Angelina scored. Sixty–ten.  Moments later, one of the Weasley twins pelted a Bludger at a Slytherin Chaser, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal: seventy–ten. 

The Gryffindor crowd below were screaming themselves hoarse – Gryffindor were sixty points in the lead.  If Harry caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs.  I could tell that Harry could almost feel hundreds of eyes following him as he soared around the pitch, high above the rest of the game, with Malfoy speeding along behind him. 

And then he saw it. The Snitch was sparkling twenty feet above him. 

Harry put on a huge burst of speed, and I could tell he had seen the Snitch; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, Malfoy threw himself forward, grabbed hold of the Firebolt’s tail and was pulling it back.  If Harry could reach Malfoy, he would have hit him, I could tell.  I honestly would have done the same.  Even though Malfoy was panting with the effort of holding onto the Firebolt, he had achieved what he’d wanted – the Snitch had disappeared. 

“Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I’ve never seen such tactics!”  Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his broom. 

“YOU CHEATING SCUM!” Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall’s reach.  “YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B-”

Professor McGonagall didn’t even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her fist in the Slytherin Seeker’s direction; her hat had fallen off, and she, too, was shouting furiously. 

Alicia took Gryffindor’s penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet.  It looked like the Gryffindor team was quickly losing concentration, and the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy’s foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights. 

“Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal – Montague scores –’ Lee groaned. ‘Seventy–twenty to Gryffindor.”

“Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!”  Lee yelled.

Every single Slytherin player apart from the Seeker, even the Slytherin Keeper, was streaking up the pitch towards Angelina.  They were all going to block her.  Suddenly, Harry wheeled the Firebolt about; bent so low he was lying flat along the handle and kicked it forwards. Like a bullet, he shot towards the Slytherins. They all cried out in horror at Harry speeding towards them and they scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them; Angelina’s way was clear.  Lee was practically bouncing in his seat.

“SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor lead by eighty points to twenty!”  He cried in delight.  

Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in mid-air, reversed and zoomed back into the middle of the pitch. 

It was obvious that Harry had seen something because as soon as he stopped, he urged the Firebolt downwards but the Slytherin Seeker was miles ahead.  Oh no.  Gaining on the Seeker, Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as one of the Slytherin Beaters sent a Bludger at him.  Once he was basically at the Seeker’s ankles, Harry threw himself forwards, taking both hands off his broom. He knocked the Seeker’s arm out of the way and closed his hands around the small golden ball with wings that was the Golden Snitch. 

“YES!”  Harry screamed.  Harry pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium exploded.  He soared above the crowd, the tiny golden ball held tight in his fist, beating its wings hopelessly against his fingers.  I finally looked across at Lily for the first time since we sat down, and noticed she had a huge grin on her face, almost mirroring mine.  I looked back at Harry to see that he was engulfed in the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team.  

“We’ve won the Cup! We’ve won the Cup!”  They all kept shouting.  I knew all too well this feeling, and seeing my son experience it, as well as the look of pure joy and excitement on his face was the best thing ever. 

As soon as the Gryffindor team had sunk back to earth, wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the pitch.  Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd.  The Gryffindor team slowly made their way through the crowd to where Dumbledore was standing, holding the huge Quidditch Cup, the smiles on their faces was the best thing I have ever seen.  I never realized how much I missed this feeling, but seeing Harry experiencing the same thing made me so proud and I felt like I was reliving it all over again.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

* _A week later_ *

 

**JAMES’ POV**

 

For the past week, pretty much everyone, apart from the Slytherins, has been celebrating Gryffindor’s victory of the Quidditch Cup.  Harry has been absolutely ecstatic all week.  Ron has told me it is wonderful to see Harry like that as he hasn’t in a while.  Even the weather seemed to be celebrating, as it has been cloudless and sunny for the past week.  Lily and I were helping Harry, Ron, and Hermione study for their exams.  

 

**HERMIONE’S POV**

 

Harry’s parents were helping Harry, Ron, and I study for our exams.  Since they had been through the same thing, we might as well use their knowledge.  Plus, the more people, the better.  We were sitting in an area of the grounds that Harry, Ron, and I usually use when we don’t want people to know where we are.  It’s like a hidden garden.  Anyway, suddenly, Hedwig flew up to us, dropped a note off, and flew away again.  I picked it up and noticed it was from Hagrid.  How?  I’d know that messy handwriting anywhere.  Last I heard, Hagrid was currently in London at an appeal for Buckbeak’s death sentence.  I opened it and my face crumpled at what I read.

“Hermione?  What is it?”  I heard Ron ask, obviously concerned by the look on my face.

“It’s from Hagrid.”  I said, passing it to him.  He took it and read it aloud.

 

_Lost appeal. They’re going to execute at sunset.  Nothing you can do.  Don’t come down.  I don’t want you to see it._

_Hagrid_

 

Everyone’s faces fell at this.

“You’re gonna go anyway aren’t you?”  James asked suddenly.  We all looked up at him.

“How do you know?”  I asked.

“Because he was just like you guys when he was at school.  He and Sirius were a whirlwind of trouble.  Remus was like you Hermione, the rational but highly intelligent one who tries to avoid trouble and breaking the rules but would do anything for his friends.”  Lily explained.

“How do you know all that about me?”  I asked, slightly shocked at her description.  It was pretty much perfect.

“Through observation, and getting to know you.”  She replied simply.

“Fair enough, and thank you.”  I said with a smile.  She nodded at this.

“But yes Dad, you’re right.”  Harry added.

“What’s your plan?”  James asked.

“Well, to get out unnoticed, we would need to get the Invisibility cloak, which is currently under the one-eyed witch.  But, if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I’ll be in serious trouble.”  He stated.

“I could go get it.”  James suggested.  “I’m not a student, I can’t get in trouble.”  He added, a twinkle of mischief in his eye and a smirk on his face.  Lily sighed.  I could tell that she knew that no matter what we said, he was most likely going to do it anyway.  So like Harry.

“Are you sure?”  Ron asked.

“He’s going to do it no matter what you say so I wouldn’t even bother asking.”  Lily said in defeat.  Everyone looked at her then back at James.  He laughed.

“She’s not lying.”  He said with a smirk.  “I know how much you want to be with Hagrid right now, and I doubt that you’d be able to without it.”  He added.  All of us smiled as we began packing up our textbooks and notes.

 

* _Going down to Hagrid’s hut -_ _After James got the cloak_ *

 

James and Lily stayed up at the castle as they stated that they were going to meet Remus to catch up so it was just Harry, Ron, and I.  

“I can’t believe they’re going to kill Buckbeak, it’s just too horrible.”  I said, my tone a mix between anger and heartbreak.  We got to the archway leading down to the steps we would go down to get to Hagrid’s hut only to see a certain Slytherin who had made this entire situation possible.  Malfoy.

“It just got worse.”  Ron said.  A look of rage crossed my face and I marched down to him.  He turned around as he heard us.

“Ah, come to see the show!”  He said, a camera around his neck.

“You.  You foul, loathsome, evil little COCKROACH!”  I screamed, getting my wand out and pointing it at his neck.  He then 

“Hermione, no!  He’s not worth it.”  Ron said, trying to calm me down.  After a few moments of Malfoy looking scared, almost as if he were expecting me to do something, I lowered my wand slowly.  I began to turn around to face Harry and Ron, before spinning around suddenly and punching him in the face.  He made a noise of pain before he and his minions began running away.

“That felt good.”  I said definitively.  Both boys were smiling at me.

“Not good.  Brilliant!”  Ron complimented me.  I smiled at him before we all turned around and continued down the steps to Hagrid’s hut.  

 

As we walked past Hagrid’s pumpkin patch, we saw Buckbeak sitting down, tied to one of the poles.  I felt so sorry for him I wanted to cry.  I knew I couldn’t though.  We knocked on Hagrid’s door and he opened it.

“What’re you doin’ here, an’ how’d you sneak outta the castle?”  He asked in shock.

“We wanted to visit you before…” Ron said.

“Ok.  Come in.  I’ll make you some tea.  You can’t stay long though.”  Hagrid said.  The three of us nodded and entered his hut.  Harry walked over to the window to look out at Buckbeak.  Hagrid then came to stand beside him.

“Oh look at him, he loves the smell of the trees when the wind blows through them.”  Hagrid said almost to no one.

“Why can’t we just set him free?”  Harry asked.

“They’d know it was me.  Then Dumbledore’d get into trouble.  He’s coming down y’know Dumbledore.  Says he wants to be here when they…when it happens.  Great man Dumbledore, great man.”  Hagrid told us.

“We’ll stay with you too Hagrid.”  I said seriously.  He looked horrified.

“You’ll do no such thing!  You think I want you seeing something like that?  No, you just drink your tea and be off.”  He told us.  Then it looked like a thought came to mind.  “Oh, but before you do, Ron.”  He said, walking over and grabbing something from inside a little box.  It turned out to be a rat, more specifically, _Ron’s_ rat.

“Scabbers!  You’re alive!”  He exclaimed with a smile, going over to take him from Hagrid.

“You oughtta take better care of your pets Ron.”  Hagrid told him in a half-scolding tone.

“I think that means you owe _someone_ an apology.”  I snapped, glaring at Ron.  He looked at me.

“Right, next time I see Crookshanks, I’ll let him know.”  He sassed back.

“I meant me!”  I growled.  Suddenly, a vase shattered.  All of us flipped around to look at it.

“Blimey!  What was that?”  Hagrid asked.

“Ow!”  Harry exclaimed and turned around.  He then rubbed the back of his head and turned around.  “Hagrid!”  Harry said in slight fear.  Hagrid gasped as he saw three people coming towards his hut.

“It’s nearly dark!  You shouldn’t be here.  If someone catches you out of the castle at this time of night, you’ll be in trouble, _big_ trouble.  Particularly you Harry.”  He told us.  There was a knock at the door.  “Be with you in a moment!”  Hagrid called, throwing a cover over the thing that was by his door.  “Quick!”  He stated, ushering us out the back door.


	12. Chapter 12

**RON’S POV**

 

The three of us waited until we heard the front door close before we ran out of Hagrid’s hut, down the stairs and ducked behind the pumpkin patch where Buckbeak was.  I was still holding Scabbers tightly in my hand so as I couldn’t lose him or he wouldn’t run off…again.  Hermione threw the invisibility cloak over us and we ran up the hill to the top of the stairs.  Once we got there, the three of us looked down on the far off scene.  We all saw everyone come out of Hagrid’s hut and stand around the pumpkin patch.  The Executioner then raised his blade in what seemed like slow motion, and then brought it down with lightning speed.  Dozens of crows then began flying and, even from where we were, we could hear them cawing.  I felt Hermione’s arms go around me, and she began to cry into my shoulder.

“Oh no.”  I whispered, taking in the tragic sight.  It didn’t stay that way for long though because a few moments later, I felt a pain on my finger which only one thing could be the cause of.  Scabbers bit me!  “Ow!”  I exclaimed, jerking my hand back and, in turn, dropping Scabbers.  He started to run away.  “Scabbers!”  I called after him.  I ran after him, trying to catch him with Harry and Hermione chasing after me.

 

**HARRY’S POV**

 

Hermione and I ran after Ron as he chased his rat in an attempt to catch it.  After a few minutes, Ron threw himself on the ground, grabbing the rat at the same time.  Hermione began speaking.

“Harry, you do realize what tree this is.”  She said.  I looked up to see that it was the Whomping Willow.

“That’s not good.”  I said lowly.  I’m pretty sure Hermione heard me though.  “Ron!  Run!”  I called.  He looked up at me and his face turned pale as a sheet.  With one hand holding Scabbers, he raised his other arm and pointed shakily behind us

“HARRY!  HERMIONE!  RUN!”  He called.  We then turned behind us to see a black dog running towards us.  Before I could even reach for my wand, it leapt over Hermione and I, don’t ask me how, and ran straight for Ron.  Before any of us could do anything, it had Ron by the leg and was dragging him towards the Whomping Willow.  With one hand holding Scabbers, and the other reached out in front of him towards us, he began calling our names, distress clearly present in his voice.

“HARRY!  HERMIONE!”  He called, before the dog dragged him into what looked like an entrance to a tunnel under the Whomping Willow.  

“Ron!”  We both called.  Hermione and I were about to follow after him when a huge branch came out of nowhere, smacking us both in the stomach and sending us flying backwards.  We then began dodging the branches in an attempt to get to the entrance under the tree.  After a few minutes of doing so, we finally made it.  We dusted ourselves off as we had practically dived into the hole under the tree.  We both took out our wands to provide some light in this darkness.

“Lumos.”  We said in unison, the tips of our wands illuminating into a bright light.

“Where do you suppose this goes?”  Hermione asked as we began walking.  

“It’s marked on the Marauder’s Map, but Fred and George say no one’s ever gone into it.  I have a hunch as it looks like it ends up near Hogsmeade, I just hope I’m wrong.”  I replied.  

We began to follow the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever.  After a while, the tunnel began to rise and soon after, took a sharp turn and came to a stop.  The tunnel ended with a very old looking door. It seemed to be made of wood, which seemed to be degrading. It was open slightly, illuminating the end of the tunnel with dim light.  I looked back at Hermione, who looked very frightened, but ushered me to continue nonetheless.  We both put our wands out as we could now see, but made no move to put them away.  I opened the door and both of us walked gingerly inside.  We ten entered a room.  It was completely deserted.  The second door in the room, which was to our right, lay open, leading to a shadowy hallway, the windows were boarded up, and every piece of furniture in the room looked like it had been smashed.

“We’re in the Shrieking Shack.”  Hermione whispered.  I knew it. 

I looked off to the side and saw a wooden chair, which had been torn apart, and a leg and been ripped off.  We lip up our wands once again and made our way upstairs, following the shiny path in the hallway, amongst all the dust, made but someone being dragged.  It stopped outside a room.  Hermione and I put out our wands and entered the room.   Dust covered the room like a sheet.  I didn’t pay much attention to anything else regarding my surroundings, as I saw Ron in the corner of the room, clutching his leg, which was stuck out at a strange angle and clearly broken.

“Ron?  Are you ok?”  Hermione asked, concern written all over her face.

“Where’s the dog?”  I asked urgently, hoping the dog was gone for now.

“Harry!  It’s a trap!  _He_ ’s the dog…he’s an Animagus!”  Ron exclaimed, pointing to the other side of the room.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**JAMES’ POV**

 

Remus, Lily, and I were chasing after Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as we knew they and Sirius were all at the Shrieking Shack since we had seen them on the Marauder’s Map.  

“Immobulus.”  Remus shouted, pointing his wand at the Whomping Willow.  It stopped swaying and we entered the tunnel under the tree.  We followed the long tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, like Remus, Sirius, Peter, and I had done so many times before.  

 

**HARRY’S POV**

 

“Harry!  It’s a trap!  He’s the dog, he’s an animagus!”  Ron exclaimed, pointing to the door of the room.  It still swung, but it was creaky, and parts of the wood were missing.  It swung open to reveal my Godfather, and the man who had betrayed my parents…Sirius Black.  His hair was shaggy, his clothes were that of a prison inmate, and from what I could see of his skin, he was covered in what looked like prison tattoos.  What scared me most though, were his eyes.  They looked like those of a predator whose eyes were locked on its prey. 

 

Suddenly, even though you could clearly see his leg was broken, Ron stood up and put himself in front of Hermione and I.  “If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us too!”  Ron growled protectively.  Sirius ignored him.

“No, only one will die tonight.”  Sirius stated ominously.

“THEN IT’LL BE YOU!”  I yelled, pushing past Ron and throwing myself onto Sirius, knocking him down and pointing my wand at his face.  

“Are you going to kill me Harry?”  Sirius laughed.

“Expelliarmus!”  Professor Lupin yelled, disarming me.  I saw Professor Lupin gesture for me to get off Sirius with his wand.  I did so and he looked down at Sirius, pointing his wand at him.  “Well, well, Sirius, looking rather ragged aren’t we?  Finally the flesh reflects the madness within.”  Professor Lupin stated.

“Well you’d know all about the madness within, wouldn’t you Remus?”  Sirius retorted, a smirk on his face.  Professor Lupin helped him up and embraced him in a hug.  I was confused at this.  Why would Professor Lupin, who has been so kind to me this school year, be helping and hugging the man who betrayed my parents.  _WHAT?!_

 

**JAMES’ POV**

 

Sirius pulled away from Remus then noticed us.  He froze, not believing what he saw.

“James?  Lily?”  He asked in complete disbelief.

I smiled, knowing no words were needed.  Sirius wrapped me in a long overdue hug.

“I missed you.  So much.  You have no idea.”  He said, his voice cracking.  “I am so sorry.”  He added, almost on the verge of tears.  

“For what?”  I asked curiously.

“I suggested you make that dirty coward your secret keeper instead of me.”  Sirius replied.  “The only thing that kept me sane in that godforsaken place was knowing that I was innocent from all the charges pinned against me.”  Sirius stated.

“Sirius Orion Black, our death and Peter’s betrayal was not and will never be your fault.  Please tell me that you haven’t dwelled on that for the past 12 years.”  Lily said sadly.  Sirius didn’t say anything, as no reply was needed.  It was only then I got a good look at him.  It was clear that Azkaban had aged him significantly.  His hair was shaggy, his clothes were in tatters, and from what I could see of his skin, he was covered in what looked like prison tattoos.  I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a squeak, almost like a rat.  I looked over to where Ron was sitting.  The second I saw it, I knew exactly what, or should I saw _who_ , it was.  My eyes narrowed into slits.

“Why are you looking at me like that James?”  Ron asked, slightly wary of my icy gaze.

“I’m not looking at you.  I’m looking at your rat.”  I stated.  Ron then looked confused.

“Scabbers?  What’s my rat got to do with anything?”  He asked, holding his rat closer to him.

“ _Everything_.”  Remus stated.  

“That’s not a rat.”  I sneered.

“What are you _talking_ about?  Of course he’s a rat!”

“No, he’s not.”  Remus replied  “He’s a wizard.”

“An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew.”  Sirius finished.

“You’re mental.  There’s no way.  You killed Pettigrew 12 years ago.”  Ron accused Sirius.

“I meant to.  But Pettigrew got the best of me.  Well _not this time_.”  Sirius sneered.

 

* _After Sirius, Remus, and James explain everything to Harry_ *

 

After Remus, Sirius, and I had given the long explanation of what had happened, up to the parts that each of us knew, we all then turned to Ron.

“You see, it is very possible for the rat that you are holding in your hand to be Peter Pettigrew.”  I said.

“I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen him transform.  I’d recognise that rat anywhere.”  Sirius said.

“He just can’t be.”  Ron said quietly, almost to himself.

“Alright, if that is true, let us test that theory.  We’ll force him to transform.  If he really is a rat, this will not harm him, but if he is an animagus, it will force him to transform back into his human form.  Deal?”  Remus asked Ron.  After a moment of deliberation, Ron reluctantly handed his thrashing rat over to Remus.  “Together?”  Remus asked Sirius and I.  We both nodded.  We got out our wands and cast a spell at Peter at exactly the same time.  A flash of light suspended him in the air before he began to transform back into a human.  Once he was a man again, he looked up at the three of us.

“Hello Peter.  Long time, no see.”  Remus said coldly.

“R-Remus…S-Sirius…J-James…my old friends!”  He greeted us.  No one smiled.  Everyone was glaring at Peter, wands raised and pointing at him.

“You sold James and Lily to Voldemort didn’t you?”  Sirius growled, more of a statement than a question.

“I didn’t mean to.”  Peter whined.  “The Dark Lord, you have no idea the weapons he possesses.”  Before anyone else could say anything, Lily spoke up.

“You made it so that we wouldn’t see our son grow up.  We missed it all; his first steps, his first laugh, his first smile, his first word.  He had to grow up in a horrible, harsh environment, because _you_ betrayed us and framed Sirius for the betrayal and your supposed murder.”  She said.

“I guess your animagus form fits.  You dirty, cowardly, little rat.”  I sneered.

 


	14. Chapter 14

* _Skip to when they are in the tunnel_ *

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

I never trusted Peter to begin with; there was something about him that I didn’t like.  Honestly though, I _wish_ Sirius had killed him, but if that wasn’t going to happen, I’d rather he was given to the Dementors.  Remus had tied Peter up and he was watching him like a hawk.  We had all agreed that if he transformed, we _would_ kill him, not caring what the consequences were.  We just emerged from the tunnel under the Whomping Willow when something happened.  I looked across at Remus, whose entire body had gone stiff.  He then started shaking violently, and I knew exactly what was happening, and by the looks on their faces, so did James and Sirius.  What none of us noticed though, is that Peter got away whilst we were focused on Remus.

“Lily, you take Ron, Harry, and Hermione back to the castle as fast as you can.  Sirius and I will deal with Remus.”  James said quickly.  I nodded and Hermione, Harry, and I helped Ron up so we could help him back to the castle.  James transformed into a stag and dashed after Remus and Sirius.  

 

**JAMES’ POV**

 

“Lily, you take Ron, Harry, and Hermione back to the castle as fast as you can.  Sirius and I will deal with Remus.”  I said quickly.  Lily nodded and did as I asked.  I transformed into a stag and dashed after Remus and Sirius.  I finally caught up to the three of them, and saw Remus and Sirius fighting.  This took me back to Hogwarts days where I would help Remus each month with his transformation.  

 

* _A little while later_ *

 

After some fighting, Remus had run off somewhere in the Dark Forest, so I decided to follow Sirius, who had been hurt in the fight.  I transformed back into a human to see Sirius lying by a lake, human, and barely conscious.  He opened his eyes and gasped in terror at what he saw.  I followed his gaze and saw something that chilled me to the bone.  I looked up to see hundreds of Dementors flying in circles above us.  I turned to the one spell that I knew would protect us.  I thought of the moment that Lily Evans became Lily Potter.  

However, before I could even get out my wand, a Dementor came towards us and began sucking the life out of each of us one at a time.  They just kept coming.  However, through my blurred vision, I saw a patronus in the form of a Doe appear on the other side of the lake.  My eyes widened.

“Lily.”  I whispered.  Suddenly, light seemed to emit from the doe in waves across the lake, driving the Dementors away.  Once the light faded away, I lost consciousness.  

 

* _Later_ *

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

Harry and Hermione were sitting with Ron whilst I was sitting by James, who was currently unconscious.

“We need to save Sirius.”

“I know, but _how_?”  Harry asked.  Suddenly, I heard James’ voice from next to me.

“I saw you.”  He said.  My head snapped down to face him, relief spreading through my body at his open eyes.

“What?”  I asked.

“I saw you down at the lake.  You made the Dementors go away.”  James said, his voice sounding cryptic.  I decided not to argue with him and just let it slide.  He then sat up.  “Wait, where is everyone?  Where’s Sirius?”  I asked.

“They captured him, and any minute now the Dementors are going to perform the kiss.”  I told him.  His eyes widened.  Suddenly, the door opened and Dumbledore walked in.

“Headmaster, you’ve got to stop them, they’ve got the wrong man!”

“It’s true Sir, Sirius is innocent.”

“It’s Pettigrew who did it.”  James piped up.

“I believed Sirius had killed him.”  Dumbledore said, a slightly confused look on his face.

“So did everyone else, but Pettigrew staged the whole thing, as well as betraying us.  He then hid as a rat, as _Ron’s_ rat more specifically.”  I explained.

“Please, Sir, you _have_ to believe us.”  Hermione begged.

“I do believe you, but I doubt the word of three thirteen year old wizards, and two people who are supposed to be _dead_ will convince anyone else, and I have no power to convince others, nor overrule the Minister for Magic.”  Dumbledore said rationally.

“Then what do we do?”  James asked.

“What we need is more _time_.”  Dumbledore said, looking directly at Hermione.

“But we don’t have-” Hermione said before realization came to her face and her eyes widened.

“Now listen closely.”  Dumbledore said to her in a low but crystal clear voice.  “Sirius Black is locked in the top-most cell of the dark tower.”  He told us.  “You know the law Miss Granger.  You must not be seen, and you would do well to return before this last chime.”  He told her.  “Remember, _you must not be seen_.  If you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life can be saved.  Three turns should do it I think.”  He told Hermione.  She nodded.  “Good luck.”  He said before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

“Harry, you stay with Ron.  Lily, James, could you come here please?”  Hermione asked us.  We walked over to her and she got us to stand in a tight circle.  She pulled a thin, golden, chain out from under her robes and put it round the three of our necks.  I looked and saw something that I never thought I would see up close.

“Is that-is that a time turner?”  I asked in shock.  Hermione nodded before turning the hourglass three times.  As soon as she took her hand away, the hourglass began spinning.  Everything around us seemed to spin and go backwards.

As soon as time stopped again, she took it from around our necks and put it back underneath her robes.  We all looked towards the clock to see what time it was.

“7:30.  Where were you at 7:30?”  James asked.

“Going to Hagrid’s.”  Hermione answered definitively.  “Come on, and we _can’t_ be seen.”

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**HERMIONE’S POV**

 

James, Lily, and I ran towards Hagrid’s hut, making sure that no one would see us.  We got to the archway before the steps down to Hagrid’s hut without any problems, but had to stop when we saw past Ron, Harry, and me talking to Malfoy.  I saw myself punch Malfoy and I smirked.

“Good punch.”  James complimented me.

“Thanks.”  I replied, smiling at him.  I turned around to see Malfoy running towards us.  My eyes widened.  “Malfoy’s coming.  Move!”  I said in a rushed whisper.  The three of us ran to hide behind a wall so we wouldn’t be seen.

“Not a word to anyone!  Understood?  I’m gonna get that jumped up mudblood.  Mark my words.”  I heard Malfoy say.  By this point, I had gotten used to him calling me a mudblood so I just rolled my eyes, but as I looked back at Lily, I saw a fire in her eyes that looked like it could cause Malfoy to burst into flames.  I then looked at James to see a similar look.  Without saying another word, I peeked around the arch to see that past Ron, Harry, and me were already making their way down the steps.

“Ok, we’re clear.  Let’s go.”  I said, indicating for Lily and James to follow me.

 

**MALFOY’S POV**

 

I paused as I caught a glimpse of three figures running through the archway to, what looked like, hide on the other side, away from us: two girls and a boy.  One of the girls, from the looks of it, looked exactly like Granger, and all I could tell of the other was that she had long, red hair.  The boy looked almost exactly like Potter, glasses and all, but he was dressed differently.  _What is going on?_  

 

**JAMES’ POV**

 

We waited until past Harry, Hermione, and Ron had entered Hagrid’s hut, watching from a distance as they went inside.  Once they did, the three of us rush down the stairs to hide behind the pumpkin patch.  After a few minutes Hermione spoke up.

“Fudge is coming.” She said, looking back.  I followed her gaze to see Dumbledore, the executioner, and Fudge coming towards us.  She then looked back to Hagrid’s hut and frowned. “We aren’t leaving.  Why aren’t we leaving?”  She asked herself.  She then picked up a rock and threw it at the open window.  She then crouched down so she was hiding.

“Are you mad?!”  I whisper yelled.  Hermione paid me no mind and threw yet another rock at the open window, this time, hitting Harry on the back of the head.

“Come on, we’re coming out the back door. Go.”  Hermione urged.  The three of us ran to hide behind the trees.  Once the trio had run off, Hermione stepped out slightly to make sure that they were gone before signalling us to come with her.  I walked over to Buckbeak, who was sitting down in between the pumpkins.  He looked up at me and I bowed deeply.  He mimicked my action and put his head back down.  I undid his chains and began pulling but he didn’t even budge.

“Come on Buckbeak.”  I said quietly.  “Come on, we’re going to help you.”  I said.

“Keep trying.”  Lily encouraged, barely a whisper.

“I’m trying.”  I replied quietly.  I then turned my attention back to Buckbeak, trying to coax him into coming with us, but he kept refusing to move.  That was until Hermione came to stand next to me holding a dead ferret.

“Come on Buckbeak.  Come and get the nice dead ferret.”  She said.  He stood up and she threw it to him.  He caught it and began walking towards us.  She then took a second ferret and did the same thing.  Suddenly, the door to Hagrid’s hut opened, and all of us froze as the execution party emerged.  I noticed that they weren’t looking at us though.  It seemed as though Dumbledore was stalling them as long as possible.

“Come on Buckbeak.”  Hermione coaxed, holding out another dead ferret.  He followed us, his beak snapping at the dead ferret.

“But where is it?”  Fudge asked.  “I saw the beast just now.”  His voice slightly rose.  “Not a moment ago!”  He exclaimed.

“How extraordinary.”  Dumbledore said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Buckbeak.”  Hagrid frowned.

“Oh come now Dumbledore.  Someone’s obviously set released it!”  Fudge said, throwing an accusing gaze at Hagrid.

“I didn’t.”  Hagrid said in a manner of fact tone.

“I don’t think the Minister is suggesting that you had anything to do with this Hagrid.  After all, how could you?  You’ve been with us all the time.”

“Well, right.”  Hagrid affirmed.

“Well…well, we must search the grounds.”  Fudge demanded.

“Search the _skies_ if you must Minister.  Meanwhile, I’d like a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy.”  Dumbledore said.  “Oh, executioner, your services are no longer required.”  He added with a slightly mocking smile.  “Thank you.”

We waited until everyone was gone before we began running through the forest, Hermione throwing what was left of the dead ferrets occasionally to Buckbeak, who was now running after us.  We got deep within the forest and Hermione threw Buckbeak the last ferret.  She then kept running.

“Now what?”  I asked.

“Now we save Sirius.”  Hermione said, leading us to the Whomping Willow.

“How?”  Lily asked.  “’Judging by the time now, he’s not going to be up in the cell for a few hour.”  She pointed out.

“I would suggest flying up on Buckbeak, but I don’t know if he would take all three, then four when we free Sirius, of us.  We’ll figure something out.”  She replied honestly.  “Let’s just go to the Whomping Willow for now.”  She suggested, before we took off running through the forest.


	16. Chapter 16

**JAMES' POV**

 

“There’s Lupin and you two.”  Hermione said as Lupin yelled “ _Immobulus_.”

“Now we wait.”  Lily said.

“Now we wait.”  Hermione repeated.  With that, we all sat down to wait.

 

* _Later_ *

 

We had been talking for a while whilst we waited for everyone to come out.  Hermione had been telling us stories of their (Harry, Ron & her) adventures over the past couple of years as well as what she knew of Harry’s home life.  She also told us what the wizarding world believed of Sirius.  I had a multitude of emotions running around in my head, but I couldn’t voice my opinion or thoughts because, before I could even form a sentence, Lily caught our attention and told us that everyone was emerging from the tunnel under the Whomping Willow.

“Here we come.”  Lily said.  We all stood up and waited for the scene in front of us to play out.  We watched as Remus turned into a werewolf and Sirius and I went after him.  The three of us ran then followed the forest to the lake where Sirius and I had appeared after we had fought with Remus.  Sirius was now human, and barely conscious, lying by the lake.  I was kneeling down next to him trying to make sure he was ok when we both looked up and saw the Dementors above us.  Before we knew it, one by one, the Dementors were sucking the life out of past-Sirius and past-me.  I looked over at Lily and nodded.  She nodded back and walked out so she had a clear vision of both of us.  She then pulled out her wand.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”  She called.  A doe erupted from her wand and paused before letting off pulses of bright, white, translucent light seemingly coming from it.  As the pulses continued, the Dementors began to flee.  Once all the Dementors were gone, the light faded away so that all that was left was a light on the tip of Lily’s wand, which quickly faded.  As the light faded away, past-me lost consciousness.  

“What did you just _do_?”  Hermione demanded when Lily came back to where they were hiding.

“I saved their lives, _that’s_ what I just did.”  Lily snapped.

“I said we-” Hermione began, but Lily cut her off.

“Couldn’t be seen.  I know.  I know how time turners work, and I know what all the laws and rules surrounding them are.  You may be the brightest witch of your age, but I was the brightest of mine.”  Lily stated.  I raised an eyebrow at the two.

“I hate to interrupt but I think we should hide.”  I said.  Both of them looked at me.  “Someone’s coming.”  I told them. 

 

* _After past-Sirius and past-James have been taken away_ *

 

“Now, Sirius will most likely be up in the Tower by now, so James, Hermione, you take Buckbeak and fly up to rescue Sirius, I’ll make my way back to the hospital wing and wait for you there.  Sound good?”  Lily suggested.  “Oh, and tell Sirius I love him and I’ll see him soon ok?”  I added.  James nodded at this, a smile on his face.  Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Lily got there first.  “Don’t worry, I’ll remain hidden.  The three of us will then walk in together when you get there.”  She added.

“Sounds good.”  Hermione replied.  I nodded and we went our separate ways.

Lily ran off to go to the hospital wing and Hermione and I bowed to Buckbeak.  He bowed back and we then climbed onto his back before taking off and heading up to the dark tower.

 

Buckbeak landed on the landing of the Dark tower and Hermione jumped off, running to the cell.

“Alohamora.”  Hermione said, pointing her want at the lock to the cell.  The door swung open with a creak and Sirius got up and rushed out of it.

“James?  Hermione?  What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you of course.”

“Come on Sirius, you can’t be that thick.  I thought that was Peter’s job.”

“Get on, there’s not much time.”  I said.  Sirius and I helped Hermione up and Sirius followed quickly.  After that, Buckbeak took off and we flew to the top of the West Tower.  

Once we got there, Hermione and I jumped off onto the landing.

“Thank you.  Both of you.”  He said.

“It wasn’t just us.  Lily drove the Dementors away.”  I said, reminding him of the previous events.

“We will see each other again soon Prongs.”  He told me with a smile.

“See you soon Padfoot.”  I replied with a grin.

“Oh, and Hermione.”  Sirius said, we both looked at him.  “You really are the brightest witch of your age.”  He complimented her.  She smiled.

“Off with you then you dog.”  I said teasingly.  He grinned.

With one last smile, Sirius squeezed Buckbeak’s sides with his heels and they both flew off into the night.  With that, we both sprinted off down the stairs towards the Hospital Wing. 

 

* _Meeting up with Lily at the Hospital Wing_ *

 

We met up with Lily outside the Hospital Wing and waited until the last chime of the clock before we opened the doors and walked in. 

“How did you get there?”  Ron asked in shock.  “We were talking to you there.”  He pointed to a spot on the floor in front of him.  He then turned to us again “and now you are there.”  He finished.

“What’s he talking about James?”  Hermione asked looking at me.  I looked back at her with a cheeky smile.

“No idea.  Honestly, Ron, how can someone be in two places at once?”  I asked.  Lily and Hermione burst out laughing at my comment.  Both Harry and Ron looked confused, but both let it slide.

 

* _The Next Day_ *

 

**LILY’S POV**

 

Dumbledore had requested James and I in his office because he wanted to ask us something.  We knocked on the door and it immediately opened.

“Yes?”  James and I asked together.

“I was wondering if it would be alright for you to reveal yourselves to the students?”  Dumbledore asked, getting straight to the point.  James and I looked at each other and shrugged.

“Sure.”  I replied.

“We will also have to deal with the Ministry of Magic soon.”  Dumbledore pointed out.  I knew this would come out eventually.

“ _That’s_ going to be a _nightmare_.”  James stated.

“To say the _least_.”  I added.

“Also, I have sent a letter to the Dursleys outlining what has happened and saying that Harry will not be living with his parents.  It also contained a photo of all of you on Christmas.  I hope that is alright.”  Dumbledore told us.  I smiled.

“That’s going to be a shock when they find out.”  I said without even thinking.

 

* _4 Privet Drive_ *

 

**PETUNIA’S POV**

 

Vernon had already gone to work, taking Dudley with him to school.  For some reason, I found myself thinking about Lily.  It had been years since I thought about her, but no matter how much I tried not to, I couldn’t get her out of my head.  I sifted through the mail after I picked it up and noticed one letter in particular.  It looked exactly like Lily and Harry’s Hogwarts letters, but this one was addressed to…me?

I sat down the table and opened it cautiously.

 

_Dear Mrs Dursley,_

 

_My name is Albus Dumbledore. I have some news for you that you will find hard to believe, so you may want to sit down if you haven’t already.  Your sister, Lily, and her husband James have returned from the dead.  It is unknown as to how or why, but it is the truth.  We have run all the necessary tests to prove their identities, and it is really them.  You should also note, that beginning this summer, Harry will now be living with his parents._

_If you wish for further proof, attached is a photo of the three of them taken on the Christmas Day of this year, 1993._

 

_Kind Regards,_

_Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot._  

 

I could not believe what I had just read.  Lily could not be alive, it just wasn’t possible.  I am no witch, but I knew that even in the wizarding world, no spell could reawaken the dead.  Yet, somehow Lily and James had managed it.  I slid the photo out and as said, it was Lily and James – exactly how they looked 12 years ago, with Harry – exactly how he looked when he went off to school this year.  The picture was moving and they were all smiling and hugging each other.  I couldn’t believe it.  On the outside, I always pretended that I hated Harry, and that I couldn’t stand my sister or her husband.  Deep down, I didn’t.  I disliked treating Harry so poorly, but I knew I had to because of Vernon.  Vernon never told me where his hatred towards magic stemmed from, but it had gotten to the stage where I didn’t even bother to think about it anymore.  

I remember when Marge came over the day Harry left, and he got angry and basically turned her into a balloon, she honestly deserved it for what she said.  I was so uncomfortable when she said “if there’s something wrong with the bitch then there’s something wrong with the pup.”  I don’t think she understood that it wasn’t just Harry’s mother she was insulting, it was also my sister as well.  I knew I shouldn’t tell Vernon or Dudley, as they would think I am absolutely crazy, so I made a promise to myself that I was not going to.  However, what was I going to tell them about Harry not being with us anymore?  I had to think of something, and it had to be fast since Harry was due to be home with us in a little over a week.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**LILY’S POV**

James and I were currently in Dumbledore’s office talking.  James and I had decided that we were going to go back to Godric’s Hollow and begin cleaning up our old house so we could live in it again.  Harry still had about two weeks to go at school though.  Dumbledore had asked us if we would introduce ourselves to the students, and then to the Ministry of Magic.  That was going to take ages.  One step at a time I guess though.  We were going to leave in the next couple of days so we could fix up the house to a liveable state, at least on the inside, before we went to the Ministry of Magic though.  Tonight, we were going to introduce ourselves to the student.  We’d deal with the Ministry later.

* _Later_ *

**HARRY’S POV**

Tonight we were introducing my parents to the rest of the students.  Since they looked so young, we had decided that they were going to dress up in Gryffindor robes and sit with Hermione, Ron, and I at the feast.  At some point during dinner, Dumbledore will introduce them and they will stand up.  Since our clothes would be too small for them, Dumbledore was going to give them a robe to put over their normal clothing since our school uniforms are a bit small for them.

* _At Dinner_ *

**DUMBLEDORE’S POV**

Once everyone had gathered for dinner and everyone was seated, I looked over at the Gryffindor table, right at the Potters, briefly.  I then looked out at the students, my eyes gazing over the house tables.  
“Now, everyone, before we feast, I have some news for you all.  I am going to introduce you to two people.  You will all find this hard to believe, but we have run all possible tests and they are who they claim to be, and are no danger to you.”  Dumbledore stated.  All the students, bar Harry, Hermione, and Ron, looked around at each other in confusion and began whispering between themselves.  “Silence please.”  Everyone looked back up at me.  I saw Harry glance at his parents from across the table and smile to himself.   I then looked straight at James and Lily, who were sitting about halfway down the Gryffindor table with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  “James, Lily, would you stand up please.”  I asked with a smile.  I saw them link hands before they stood up.  All eyes in the room immediately fixed on the two of them. “Everyone, meet James and Lily Potter.”  I finished.  There was a collective gasp from all the students and they all began talking amongst themselves.  
“Silence!”  I called.  All voices went silent.  

* _After dinner_ *

**LILY’S POV**

James and I had spoken to several people around us at the table as well as a few Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, who were all lovely.  I miss being back here, I truly do.  Hogwarts will always be special to me and I am so glad I got to be back here for a few months.  Dumbledore has told us that this would be our last night at Hogwarts though, he said that we should head home tomorrow.  Even though I am sad to leave Harry so soon after finding him again, I know that James and I will see him in a week anyway.  I am so glad I met his friends though.  I will be forever grateful to Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

* _The Next Day_ *

James and I were about to apparate to our old house to start cleaning it up to make it liveable before Harry arrived back.  We had said our goodbyes to our friends, staff, students, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, so we picked up our things and made our way to the Shrieking Shack in order to be able to apparate back to Godric’s Hollow, to the home we had waiting for us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be the last chapter for this story. Sorry it ended so suddenly, but I have kind lost motivation to write it and I have been neglecting it a lot more than I should. I think I rounded it off well though, but I hope the ending pleased you all. Thank you to all of you who read it and I hope you enjoyed it.


	18. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Potters visit the Dursleys...

When Petunia told Vernon and Dudley that Harry was no longer going to be living with them, she received a tidal wave of questions.  She didn’t know how to explain it so she eventually opted for the truth.  Neither of them believed her at first, but after seeing the picture that Dumbledore had sent her, as well as her reading the letter to them, they reluctantly began to believe her.  

So here she was, at the train station, a month later, about to see her sister, and her brother-in-law for the first time in at least 15 years, and her nephew over a year after she last said goodbye to him.  Petunia Dursley was not one to get nervous or lose her cool easily, her pride was too strong for that.  She had a hard, mostly cold, exterior (except when it came to her son).  However, the one thing she had never told _anyone_ , is that she always regretted how she treated her sister, her nephew, and she never _really_ got to know James either.  For the first time in her life, she felt nervous about something.   She waited at the platform as the train pulled up and passengers began filing out and going to collect their luggage.

Lily, James, and Harry all walked over to Petunia, kind smiles on their faces, but, she could tell that there was tension between them and just by looking at Harry, she could tell that he was nervous about this meeting.

“Lily, James, Harry.”  She greeted them.  There was a slight pang of guilt in her heart about how bluntly she was speaking to them, but it went away before it could linger.

“Petunia.”  Lily greeted Petunia brightly.  Lily had honestly missed her sister, even before she died.  She could not say the same for her whale of a husband, but, even though they had never been close, Petunia was still her sister.

“Petunia, it is nice to see you.”  James greeted her politely.  She could see the resemblance between Harry and James.  The only difference between them was that Harry had Lily’s green eyes, and James had hazel eyes. 

“Shall we?”  Petunia asked.  The Potters nodded and followed Petunia out of the train station and towards her car.  

* _Later – arriving at_ _4 Privet Drive_ *

Petunia had organised the house so that Harry would sleep in his old room, and that Lily and James would sleep in the guest room.  They were only staying a few days, but she knew that this was going to be tough for all of them.  She was still wary of Lily and James, since they had come back from the dead and neither knew how or why, but she was doing to attempt to be civil nonetheless.  She unlocked the door and 

“Harry, you will be in your old room, and your parents will be in the guest room.  If you could show them where it is while I prepare some afternoon tea I would appreciate it.  Come downstairs once you put your things away.  Vernon and Dudley should be home soon.”  She said in a tone that was all too familiar to Harry, but she had never said that she would appreciate Harry doing something.  It was always a “ _do this Harry, do that Harry_ ”, he was used to her making demands, rather than requests.  It unnerved him slightly, but he assumed that she was putting on a show because his parents were here.  Both Lily and James knew how the Dursleys had treated Harry and none of them were too keen on this visit, but Harry had some things that were still here anyway, so they thought why not.

“Yes Aunt Petunia.”  He responded, as he had done so many times before.  He then showed his parents upstairs and towards the room they would be staying in.

 _*Upstairs_ *

Harry showed his parents to their room and then went to his after explaining where his room was in relation to the guest room.  He walked into his bedroom for what might be his last visit to this house.  He looked around, remembering when he moved into this room from the cupboard under the stairs.  It was like living in luxury.  He had an actual bed instead of a hard, old mattress, a wardrobe where he could put, and hang up, his clothes and they wouldn’t constantly be crumpled and stuffed into the edge of the tiny space under the stairs he once called his home.

He remembered when he was locked in here and Vernon put multiple locks on the door as well as bars on his window, which was now fixed.  He decided that he wasn’t going to unpack, just leave what he brought with him in his suitcase.  He then left his old room and went in search of his parents.  He stopped outside their door as he began speaking.

“Are you sure this was a good idea Lily?”  He heard his father ask.

“I don’t like it either James, but Harry needed to get the last of his things so why not visit with him.  It’s only for three days.”  Lily said honestly.

“A lot can happen in three days Lily, and you know how they treated Harry.”  James replied.

“I know.  I know what they did, and there is no way I am forgiving or excusing that, but the three of us can do this.  If Harry managed twelve years, we can manage three days.”  Lily said.  The room went silent after than and Harry decided it would be a good time to knock.  He did so and heard his mother call “ _Come in!_ ”  He entered the room and saw his parents sitting side-by-side on the double bed of the guest room.

“You guys ready to come downstairs?”  Harry asked, a smirk on his face.  His parents narrowed their eyes at him, cautious at the expression on his face.

“Honestly, I’d prefer to stay up here.”  James said in a monotone voice.

“Oh, but you haven’t even met Vernon or Dudley yet.”  Harry replied, his voice basically dripping with sarcasm.  Lily and James looked at each other, surprised at Harry’s tone.  Neither of them were particularly looking forward to meeting their brother-in-law and nephew.

* _Meeting Vernon and Dudley_ *

The three Potters were sitting in the lounge room talking whilst Petunia was in the kitchen preparing something to eat when they heard the front door unlock and open. A few seconds later, Dudley and Vernon appeared in the kitchen.

“Harry!”  Dudley exclaimed with a smile.  Harry frowned slightly.  His cousin had _never_ smiled at him like that.  Why was he starting now?  He _must_ have been putting on a show for his parents, there was no other explanation.  But all of them, especially his uncle, _hated_ anything to do with magic, well, Dudley didn’t know any better because that was how he was raised.  He followed by example, like all children do, and he had had pretty poor examples to follow.  Harry saw Vernon look his parents like they were some sort of disease, like he had looked at Harry for the last 12 years of his life.

“Vernon, Dudley, meet my sister, Lily, and her husband, James.  Harry’s parents.”  Petunia introduced them in a civil manner.  

* _Three Days Later_ *

Lily would _tell_ you she was going to miss her sister, she would _tell_ you that she couldn’t wait to see them again, but in all honesty, she could not _wait_ to get out of that house.  Of course, she would never say anything negative to their faces, but she, Harry, and James were going to talk about this when they got home.

“Well, it was lovely to see you again Petunia.”  Lily said in a kind voice, her son and husband standing behind her.

“You as well Lily.”  Petunia replied.  It was obvious that the kindness was faked.  They _still_ didn’t get along, and Lily doubted they ever would.

Vernon was nothing but downright rude to them throughout their _entire_ stay.  According to Harry, Vernon was always like that, and he treated Harry no differently that he usually would.  Both Lily and James were horrified at this statement.  Dudley was an annoyance if there ever was one, and the Potters were all counting the minutes until they were able to get back home.  It would be an understatement to say that at the end of the three days, James, Lily, and Harry were not relieved.  The three Potters gathered up all their things and went to the back garden, where they were going to apparate back home.


End file.
